Would Patriots cash in with Banks?

Entering free agency, one of the Patriots' top need areas is cornerback, so it's no surprise to see prospects linked to the club in various mock drafts. Along those lines, in his latest mock draft, former scout Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com eyes Mississippi State cornerback Johnthan Banks as a possibility for the Patriots at No. 29.

Mock drafts provide a nice springboard to get more familiar with prospects, so let's do it briefly with Banks (6-2, 185).

Entering the NFL combine, analysts had some questions about Banks' speed. The feeling was that if Banks ran a solid 40-yard dash, he could enter the discussion as a late first-round pick. The speed, coupled with his size and solid work in run support, would be appealing for cornerback-needy teams.

But it didn't happen, with Banks running a 4.61.

"Banks' poor 40 time likely cost him some money in this draft, but this would be an excellent landing spot for him," Jeremiah writes. "New England covets big cornerbacks and Aqib Talib is a free agent."